I’ve been having a cooling system issue for the last few years. Coolant spills out of overflow tank, then runs fine, no overheating. Replaced thermostat in 2012, no fix. Water pump failed 10/2013, had it replaced, and as soon as the shop started it up, coolant spills out of overflow- they were at a loss. This week i noticed the thermostat housing leaking, so i replaced it. I was burping the system and sure enough it comes flowing out of the overflow. It also overflows when I turn the car off after driving for a while.
Any thoughts?
I have read that a blown head gasket can cause this. I do have something wet on the valve cover, which i assumed was just oil from a bad valve cover gasket, which i will replace soon. But could it be coolant from the head gasket?
It could be possible that the head gasket is blown and compression is leaking into the cooling system. The good news is there is a way to test this. And if it is just happening from a leak in the system the same tool is used to check for leaks. A cooling system pressure tester. Hook the tester up and pump it up to build pressure in the system that is equal to the radiator cap/ fill tank cap pressure limit. Usually around 17 psi. Let is set and take note if you loose pressure. This can take up to 30 minutes or longer for smaller leaks. Once you are sure there are no leaks and the pressure is holding good, start the engine. Monitor the pressure and if the pressure starts to build and the psi raises dramatically… then compression is getting into the cooling system. This is similar to the one I use.
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